Tobacco-hanger.



J. A. ATKINS.

TOBACCO HANGER.

APPLIUATION FILED JAN.ao,1912.

Patented Mar. 31, 1914,V

EE.. l.-

Ema-

Gwi'tnww@ 75. www.

JOHN A. A'.."KIl\TS,V OF CARROLL COUNTY, VIRGINIA.

TOBACCO-HANGER.

Application filed January 30, 1912.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 31, 1914.

sel-iai No. 674,242.

To all 'who/2i t may concern.'

Be it known that I, JOHN A. A'ruins, a citizens of the United States, residing in the lcounty of Carroll and State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tobacco-Hangers, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

rThis invention relates to tobacco hangers and has for its object to provide a simple and efficient. hanger or stick whereby tobacco leaves may be suspended in the curing house or barn, thus economizing in space.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of a body bar, and a plurality of independently movable stringer wires arranged thereon upon which the tobacco leaves may be graded` thereby greatly lessening the subsequent labor and minimizing the expense incident to the consumption of fuel in the process of curing.

A further object of the invention is to provide improved means for mounting the stringer wires upon the body7 bar and supporting the same at their free ends whereby any one of the wires may be removed fromV the end support and the tobacco leaves removed therefrom without disturbing the remaining wires.

l/Vith the above and other objects in view, the invention consists of the novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a perspective view of a tobacco hanger or stick embodying my improvements; Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view thereof; Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2; Fig. l is a top plan view of a slightly modified form of the invention; and Fig. 5 is a transverse section on the line 5 5 of Fig. 4t.

Referring in detail to the drawing 5 desig nates the body bar or stick which is of rectangular form as shown and is provided in each of its longitudinal edges or corners and adjacent to the ends and at the center thereof with the notches 6. Supporting members T are arranged upon this body bar and each of these supporting members is formed from a single length of wire bent to provide a loop S which embraces said bar. rlhis loop is seated in the notches 6 in the edges of the body bar and the end portions of the wire are twisted upon each other beneath said bar as indicated at 9. The extremities of these wire supporting members are transversely disposed and extend beyond the opposite sides of the body bar the end supporting' members being provided with eyes l0. The central supporting member has open loops or hooks 11 formed upon its ends.

To the eyes l() of the supporting members on the ends of the body bar one end of the Stringer wires l2 are loosely connected. The other ends of these wires are arranged in the open loops or hooks l1 of the central supporting member whereby said wires are supported in substantially parallel relation to the body bar and slightly spaced from the sides thereof. It will be observed that the Stringer wires are disposed in substantially the same plane as the bottom face of the body bar or stick so that when the tobacco leaves are strung upon said wires, the stems of the leaves project. above the wires and lie against the opposite faces of the body bar. By means of this relative arrangement of the Stringer wires and the bar, liability of the stems of the leaves being completely split by drafts of air causing the leaves to sway upon the wires is avoided, thereby lessening the danger of contlagration from the tobacco leaves falling from the Stringer wires into the re.

In the use of the invention, the tobacco leaves are stripped from the stalks in the field and the stems thereof are provided with slits. The leaves are now divided into four grades commonly known respectively as wrapper, fillers, lugs, and tips Each of these four grades of leaves is strung upon a separate longitudinal wire l2, the leaves upon each wire being slightly spaced apart. After a sufficient number of tobacco leaves have been arranged upon each of the Stringer wires, the free ends of said wires are disposed in the open loops or hooks 11 ofthe central supporting` member 7 as shown in Fig. l. As some of the grades require a longer time in the process of curing than others, it will be readily seen that by providing the separate Stringer wires for the several grades, any one of the grades may be removed from its wire after the leaves have been properly cured without disturbing the other wires or the tobacco leaves arranged thereon. Owing to this separate arrangement of the several grades of leaves and the manner in which they are suspended from the body bar, the consumption of fuel and the expense incident thereto is reduced to a` minimum, as by spacing the rindividual leaves instead of hanging the leaves in bunches as is commonly done, the. process of curing is greatly facilitated.

In Figs. 4f and 5 of the drawing I have disclosed a slightly modified form of the invention wherein a single stringer wire 12 is arranged upon each side of the body bar or stick 5. This bar is provided adjacent to its ends and at its center with transverse apertures 5a. These apertures receive the supporting wires 7', the ends of which extend through the apertures in opposite directions thereby forming the loops 8 which extend around the upper portion of the body bar. The arrangement of these supporting members previously described is, however, preferred, as the notches 6 in t-he edges of the hanger bar may be very quickly made and will efficiently serve to preventlongitudinal movement` of the supporting members on said bar. The application of the supporting members in the preferred form of the device may also be made with greater ease and facility than in the modified construction. In the modifie-d form, the supporting member on one end of the body bar is provided on its extremities with eyes 10 to loosely receive one of the ends of the stringer wires 12. The other of these support-ing members is provided with the hooks 11 to removably support said stringer wires. It will be noted that the oppositely extending ends of the supporting wires are offset as at 7a to dispose the same in the plane of the lower face of the body bar. In this latter form of the invention, the tobacco leaves may be graded upon the wires in the manner previously described, one or more grades being arranged upon each of the wires.

From the foregoing it` is thought that the construct-ion and operation of the invention will be fully understood.

The device is extremely simple, may be cheaply manufactured and is of great convenience in practical use. y

The mounting of the stringer wires will permit of the easy arrangement of the to` bacco leaves thereon and of their removal after the same have been satisfactorily cured.

As before stated, by the useI of my im proved hanger, the danger of firing the b-arn or curing house by t-he leaves being blown down is practically eliminated.

lVhile I have shown and described the preferred form and construction of the various parts, it. will be understood that the device is susceptible of considerable modiication without departingfrom the essential feat-ure or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed is l. A hanger of the class described, co1nprising a body b-ar rectangular in cross section, supporting members mounted adjacent the ends of the bar and each comprising a continuous length of wire having its central portion looped about the bar, the ends of each supporting member being twisted together and extended transversely of the bar in opposite directions beyond the side faces thereof, the extreme ends of the wire being bent to form eyes, Stringer wires loosely and permanently connected to the eyes of said supporting members and supported thereby in the plane of the lower face of said bar, and a third supporting member looped about the bar intermediate its ends and having oppositely extending end portions provided with hooks adapted to removably support the free ends of the Stringer wires, the corners of the bar being notched. to receive the looped portions of said supporting members and prevent longitudinal movement of the same.

2. A hanger of the class described comprising a rectangular body bar, a plurality of spaced supporting members each consisting of a length of wire bent to provide a central loop embracing said bar, the ends of the wire being twisted upon eac-h other and transversely extended in opposite directions, the ends of said wire being upwardly inclined, the extremities of one of said supporting members being formed into hooks and those of the other member being formed into eyes which are disposed contiguous to the opposite side faces of the bar, and Stringer wires loosely and permanently connected at one of their ends to said eyes and removably supported at their other ends in the terminal hooks of the other supporting member, said Stringer wires being disposed in spaced parallel relation to the opposite sides of the bar and in the plane of the lower face thereof.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aiiix my signature in the presence of two witnesses. JHN A. ATKINS. Witnesses:

Gro. D. FAwcnTT, T. G. FAWCETT.

Gopies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Eatents, Washington, D. C. 

